We offer this poem from Helen Schucman
[scribe of A Course in Miracles]
in Loving Remembrance
of
Kellie R. Love
Kellie R Love made his transition on December 12, 2010.

I did not die. In rising up I did
But stay the same. Eternity had come
To claim its own from the embrace of time
And bitter kiss of death. I but came home
After a journey so diminutive
That Heaven never noticed it began
Nor ended. Unencumbered, changelessly,
The Christ united with the Son of man,
And what belonged to God returned to Him.
Think not the Holy Spirit waits for death
To offer you the gifts God gave to Him,
Or Heaven rests upon a failing breath.

I did not die. Appearance of hate
Enveloped Me. Illusions veiled My eyes
And stopped My heart. Earth’s dream closed over Me,
And that was all. The Son of God must rise
Above all dreams of fear. Would God allow
The Son who is like Him to separate
From life that is Himself? His Comforter
Came down to lift Me up with His great
And silent wings. The peace of God unbound
My hands and feet. For who can stop the Heart
of God Himself, or veil the eyes that watch
His Son in mercy, or make Him depart
From what is but Himself?

Kellie’s background includes Psychology, Radio Broadcasting, Engineering and, since 1975 a consuming interest in A Course in Miracles. He was ordained by Rabbi Joseph Gelberman as an Interfaith Minister in 1996 at the New Seminary, NYC. He currently facilitates the world’s oldest continuous ACIM study group in Chapel Hill, NC.

In 1976 he began, independently, to record the ACIM text as a personal discipline to aid in learning the material. With encouragement from the Foundation for Inner Peace, he finally completed this home-brew recording in 1982. It was judged promising but not technically adequate for publication, and he was commissioned by the Foundation for Inner Peace to spend 6 weeks in a commercial studio recording the definitive version of ACIM [non gratus]. This was published and the cassettes were distributed by the Foundation and Earl Nightengale Press for many years.

In 1985 upon issuance of the 2nd edition, a new recording by another reader was substituted for this original recording. It wasn’t until 2007 that Kellie was inspired to complete a new recording of the now available “Original” ACIM containing much original textual material that had been removed from the earlier FIP edition. This recording is a fresh and complete version of the Original Course from the original “Voice of the Course”.

Kellie R Love made his transition on December 12, 2010.

He will always be in our Hearts. What is so wonderful is that we can still listen to his beautiful voice read the Course in Miracles and Guide us Home.

From our earliest days, most of us have associated the holiday season with the message of joy and peace. ACIM also promises that joy is here now and our part is to find and release all the barriers to our awareness of it. Many years ago, I was graced with an exceptional experience of joy concurrent with a profound lesson about the obstacles to its constant presence. In 1985 the Dalai Lama had decreed that the world was in such a state that a Tibetan Buddhist initiation, normally available only to the Buddhist monks, was to be offered to the general public on five different occasions in 1985-86. No requirements for attending; whoever showed up was meant to be there. The purpose was not conversion to Buddhism but the offering of an opportunity for anyone so moved to recommit to his/her own spiritual practice, to take another step toward release. A friend of mine who lived in Hawaii, one of the five locations, had attended and said it was not to be missed should I have the opportunity to go. On checking, I found that Boulder, Colorado was one of the five locations and several of us from Denver, my home at the time, signed up for the initiation scheduled for March 1986 at the event center at the University of Colorado.

The initiation process, worthy of an entire article, lasted for forty hours spread over five days. After many preliminary lectures in both English and Tibetan, accompanied by other instructions and activities, the time came for the more than two thousand participants to line up, section by section, to pass through the several stages of initiation administered by a dozen or so monks. We were told that the other monks on stage, whom we were advised to ignore, were busy processing all the energy released by those in attendance as a result of the ceremony’s purifying effect.

As one might imagine, the slow procession of two thousand plus attendees through the actual ritual took many hours, during which time one could only sit. We had been instructed not to leave or talk during this long afternoon and evening. Just sit, when not in line ourselves, and listen to the trumpets, drums, and long horns emitting other-worldly sounds played without ceasing for the entire duration. Every two hours another shift of monk musicians would seamlessly take over so the first ensemble could rest. Of course, sleep was impossible because the seats were not conducive to resting and the sounds were both loud and compelling. One either loved those sounds, which I did, or those who didn’t, I’m told, nearly went crazy.

Thus, after several hours of sitting and listening, our section finally proceeded through the ceremony and we were back in our seats waiting for the others to finish. Through more endless sitting and listening my mind settled, both from lack of stimulus and from all the processes we had undergone. Suddenly, a great burst of joy filled my awareness like the sun in all its glory rapidly appearing over the horizon. I was stunned to say the least. And I found it nearly impossible to sit still. I finally left my seat and went over to sit next to a couple of friends who were also attending. I had no particular desire to speak with them about it, but the high was so intense I had to share it if only by sitting next to them, grinning from ear to ear. It was literally unspeakable. As I wrote the end of Never Forget To Laugh, recounting Bill Thetford’s last days when he was in such a state of joy he could hardly keep his feet on the ground, I understood exactly.

After a short while, I was once again impelled to make a change, so almost as if moved by a volition not my own, I got up and found another seat – this time a few rows up and directly in front of two men I did not know. There was no reason for my choosing that seat; it just happened. (The event center held a much larger crowd then we were so there were many empty seats scattered throughout.)

Then the fascinating lesson began to unfold. Although we had all been asked not to talk or make any extraneous noise, these two fellows were not only talking but being judgmental and insulting about other participants. As the line of yet-to-be-initiated slowly processed forward toward the stage far below, these two were laughing and making derogatory remarks and they reeked of alcohol. Hard to imagine anything less in keeping with the spirit of the event. I suppose the only reason they were not asked to leave is that the music was so loud they could not be heard unless you were quite close. In any case, it was clear they were there for my realization if nothing else.

As I listened to their ongoing diatribes, I realized that in the state of joy still strongly present in my awareness, I had lost my capacity to judge their behavior. This was not a matter of being a nice person and choosing not the judge them, it was no longer possible. The vehicle for judgment in my mind had been effectively dismantled. It would be like a person without a car saying they were choosing not to drive; with no vehicle one cannot drive. Joy and judgment are mutually exclusive states. Hence, our desperate need for forgiveness. We are called to release all judgment because it fixates our attention on thoughts and objects, rather than on the pure consciousness that we are. If judgment is valued in the slightest, joy disappears and cannot be coaxed back no matter how desperately we try, how much we study, or how good we try to be.

From the section entitled The Forgiving Dream: “The slave of idols is a willing slave. For willing he must be to let himself bow down in worship to what has no life, and seek for power in the powerless. What happened to the Son of God that this should be his wish; to let himself fall lower than the stones upon the ground, and look to idols that they raise him up? – – – A dream of judgment came into the mind that God created perfect as Himself. And in that dream was Heaven changed to hell, and God made enemy unto His Son. How can God’s Son awaken from the dream? It is a dream of judgment. So must he judge not, and he will waken.” (Text, Ch. 29) And he will know joy!

Indeed, judgment obscures our joy like a cloud before the sun and we wonder why we feel bereft. This season, let us realize as never before the fierce and absolute price we pay for our habitual judgments and renew our dedication to watching for them, then letting them float away as valueless, cherished no more. And don’t forget to ask our brother Bill for help. He reclaimed his joy and so can we.

So once again we recommit, as we bring this year to a close:

“This is the time in which a new year will soon be born from the time of Christ. I have perfect faith in you to do all that you would accomplish. Nothing will be lacking and you will make complete and not destroy. – – – So will the year begin in joy and freedom. There is much to do and we have been long delayed. Accept the holy instant as this year is born and take your place, so long left unfulfilled, in the Great Awakening. Make this year different by making it all the same. And let all your relationships be made holy for you. This is our will. Amen.” (Text, Ch. 15)

* * *

*Since 1979 Carol Howe has presented highly interactive seminars, workshops, retreats, classes, and lectures on universal spiritual principles and their practical application — for the general public, health-related and other special interest groups, and corporations – nationally and internationally. Please visit Carol’s website to view her Books, CDs and Tapes.

After the publication of her book, NEVER FORGET TO LAUGH: Personal Recollections of Bill Thetford, Co-Scribe of A Course in Miracles, Carol began to share additional material regarding Bill. This material is currently being shared on her Facebook Group and will eventually be available on her website.

There is nothing I like more than a good question about the Course. And by “good question”, I mean a thought provoking one – a question that makes me reassess what I currently believe and perhaps come to see it in a new light.

As a result, we have a very interactive study group of Course students here in Louisville where everyone is encouraged to share their insights and questions. It is also a very diverse group with people from widely varying religious backgrounds so we get a lot of very insightful questions and I’ve been making a note of them for the last 15 years.

Question: “Starting the Workbook on January 1st is always a good idea but do you have any helpful hints for getting through it?”

Answer:

Aside from the helpful hints that the Workbook, itself, gives us – that our understanding, agreement, etc., do not impede the process – I guess the most helpful things that I could add would be the following:

The first 50 lessons are called “the undoing lessons” for a very good reason. They challenge us to question every value that we thought was certain, creating the mental space in our minds that is reuired before we will be open to the new and better thoughts the Worbook offers. In that process of questioning everthing that we always thought before was true, we tend to get very uncomfortable. Humans like being certain. Uncertainty feel weak even though what brought us to the Corse in the first place was the realization on some level that it’s been our old “certainties” – the ego world’s foundational but completely erroneous beliefs – that were actually killing us.

And the first instinct of us humans when we’re confused is to seek help. My hint is to seek for that help where it can truly be found, not in other humans (like me) but to the only true teacher that the Course, itself, says is infallible: the Holy Spirit.

For while humans who’ve done the Workbook can, of course, be of service to us, the only Mind that really knows the whole plan for our own “customized curricullum” is not restricted by the limitations that exist on every human mind.

Whenever we’re confused, we want that feeling to stop. NOW! We want to fill the void uncertainty created. And the world has been very successful in teaching us that we should seek our answers OUTSIDE.

But the whole point of the ACIM Worbook is to present BETTER ideas than the ego’s world has to offer.

And so, my single most helpful hint to you – just as with the Text – is to seek your peace of mind in answers from a higher place than any other source. The Workbook was DESIGNED to open us up. Let its only true teacher fulfill His function by asking HIM to fill you up.

This is not to say that other human teachers aren’t useful, too. But while their higher experience with the process was perfect for them, the Holy Spirit knows what works best for YOU.

This is not a “one size fits all” process, dear soul. To get your perfect fit, ask the Expert. First.

And don’t forget that if you could do the Workbook perfectly, you wouldn’t need it in the first place. So please be gentle with yourself. The temptation to go into guilt goes in the exact opposite direction of the instruction of your perfect path.

And just know that EVERY effort you make (even the ones you think are “small” or worse, “imperfect”) is blessing not only you, but the entire world. And millions of your brothers will be joining you…

Know that you have my gratitude for this gift you’re offering me – forever. THANK YOU

Carmen

* Carmen Cameron, who is a founding member of Course in Miracles Society, has been teaching classes in A Course in Miracles since 1994. She was a presenter at the 2009 Miracles Conference in San Francisco and is scheduled to present again at the 2011 Conference. Carmen’s website is: http://peaceful-path.blogspot.com/

TRANSCRIBER: A long-time Course student had said to me (the transcriber) that Awakening was a process of retracing all Your steps away from Home, and His Voice said “No!”

And I will let Him speak from here:

~*~

You know how the ego loves ‘becoming’ instead of Be-ing. This idea of a ‘process’ may exist if a sleeping Brother or a Sister is not burning to Awaken, as it allows the individual to take His or Her leisurely time (there’s that word ‘time’ again!) — Their own sweet time, as the saying goes, about Awakening. When the Course was first given, the fraction of interest in Awakening was very small. It has not grown so large since then.

Time was invented to give credibility to the idea of separation, to the belief that something actually happened, something measured by the novel ideas of ‘before’ and ‘after’. What place do these ideas have in Now, as Now? Absolutely none. Do not accord them any for they deserve it not.

Time is the most insidious of the Dreamers’ definitions. It shapes everything for You Who insist upon relentless dreams. ‘Before’ and ‘after’ rob You of the Here and Now.

What You have called Your ‘Kingdom of Heaven experiences’ have very simply been Your willingness to listen to My Voice – against Your dreaming will – which brings Here and Now front and center. The Joy of listening is that You stay there, instead of it becoming a fond memory. You just got that: that once it is a memory, Your mind has slid back into time.

Once again, here is the importance of constant listening. Being Present (Here and Now) with Me is indeed a Present (Gift).

There are no accidents in Your languages. The Truth could never disappear. You can only hide It from Yourself, and now We are uncovering It to bless You All. And what a Joy It is for Those of Us Who are Awakened.

Now let Us proceed to Your initial question: Is there a process to Awakening? Only if You wish to make one to make Your wait still a little longer, as if eons have not been enough.

Is there some point to dreaming, that I would have You dream an instant longer? God has not ordained one; it does not exist.

Time is a foolish thing, though You may dwell there if You wish. I do not recommend it as a pleasant place to be, much preferring to have You Here and Now with Me

And yes, the Father is a ‘jealous God’ not wishing You to lose a moment longer of Your Joy, His Joy, by dwelling in the dream of neither Here nor Now. And yet, because You are His Son, He cannot pluck You out of time, and why is this? Because You’re not a body, a thing to move around, only You can shift Your consciousness, that act that moves You instantly from Here and Now to time and back when You so choose.

And so I have answered your question as to whether some ‘process’ is necessary. Do You need a process to change your mind? Do You need a process to arrive at just a “little willingness”? No, You don’t.

All You need is a heart full of Love for God, for Me; as I said 2000 years ago, and My forefathers another 2000-plus years before that, You need to “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and soul, and might, and mind.” And adding My addition: “And your neighbor as yourself.” That’s your way Home, all accomplished as Consciousness.

And it’s the beautiful Christmas Gift the Father-Mother, the Holy Spirit, and I, cherish.

We miss You so and wish You Home, Wakened Christ again. This is the deep appeal of Christmas, coming Home again. It’s been a long, cold loveless journey You’ve embarked upon; it can be over in an instant. You’re standing at the door. Surrendering autonomy, the key.

So why not choose it now for Heaven longs for Your glad return. You turned Your back on God and Home and All the Rest of Us, and We would have You Home again, and in, and as, Your rightful place.

Although the ego tries to tell You this means loss of freedom, it does not. Think for a moment what real Freedom You could feel, not just by knowing but also feeling You are loved by All Creation. Feel the embrace, and feel the Love. You dwell as perfect safety. Fear is gone forever, in its place the happiness of priceless acceptation. This certainty that all is well now, and will forever be. This is True Freedom. Come. Step in the door. … …

GAFF ~ The Devil in the Deep Blue SeaThoughts of an old Fisherman by Lorena R. Peter, Ph.D.**~*~*~*~*~*~*~
[as it appeared in the December 2010 Newsletter]

The voice came from behind him, from the walkway joining land to sand. “Where’s your girlfriend? Not here today? Was kind of looking forward to another chat with her.”

Gaff turned to see Wally trudging through the sand toward him. He shook his head. “You mean Priscilla?”

“Yep.” Wally plopped down on the cooler and almost slid off. He wiggled it to dig it further in, level it. “Hmmm, not bad. Pretty comfortable, in fact.”

Gaff looked at the tip of his rod to see the rhythmic back and forth movement of the tide… no fish. Not yet. “No complaints so far. What brings you to the beach?”

Wally looked to the ocean. “Attended my uncle’s funeral in Wilmington yesterday.” He shook his head. “Terribly emotional. I couldn’t tell whether people were sad or joyful that he wasn’t around any more.”

Gaff turned to look at his visitor. “Not well liked?”

He shook his head violently. “Wasn’t nice to people from what I know about him. I said some things as part of the service. Took a lot of control to keep from preaching fire and brimstone and the wrath of God at the time of judgment.”

Gaff smiled slightly and concentrated on holding his own tongue. “You don’t say.”

Wally looked like he intended to say everything he hadn’t at the funeral. He nodded. “When my uncle hits the Pearly Gates, he’s going to meet an angry God who’ll reject him from the place of the good. There’ll be hell to pay, if you catch my drift.” He chuckled without humor. “Man hurt a lot of people. Have to give ‘em credit for keeping quiet yesterday, but I could see it in their eyes.”

Gaff grinned, couldn’t help it. “You think your uncle’ll end up in hell, do you?”

Wally pushed the hair out of his eyes. “Without a doubt. Figure that’s why he held onto life for so long… knew what he was in for.”

Gaff dug into the sand and let it run through his fingers. “Sick a long time?”

Wally nodded. “Stuck around for meanness.”

“Bet he was surprised when he finally got there.”

Wally’s head jerked around toward Gaff. “What do you mean, surprised?”

Gaff grabbed an empty coffee cup from the sand and stood. Wally followed him to the surf. When the next wave rolled onto the sand at their feet, the old fisherman reached down to fill the cup with water. He looked into the cup with such rapt attention that Wally moved closer to see, too.

Finally overcome with curiosity, Wally broke into the sound of the waves. “What are you looking at?”

Gaff smiled into the cup. “The ocean.”

Wally’s face scrunched into a tight frown. “You are some crazy old man. That’s just a cup of water, not the ocean.”

Gaff looked at his new friend. “Is it? You just saw me take it from the ocean and it contains all the minerals that the ocean does. It’s just like the ocean from which it came.” He waited for that to sink in.

Wally looked from the cup of water to Gaff’s face. Did he feel Gaff pulling his leg? Then he stared into the cup for a long moment. “It is the same in that way.”

Gaff smiled. “You might say the ocean is the mother and this cup of water is a miniature version of the mother… a child.”

Wally jerked to negate the statement, but paused. “OK, I’ll go along with you.”

Gaff crossed the fingers of his other hand behind his back. “You could think of God like the ocean, large and encompassing everything, a sea of endless potential. You could see each of us as a part of that everything, only separated in our physical bodies.” He tapped on the cup to make his point. “We all hold endless potential within us.”

The minister took time to try on this idea. He jiggled his head to indicate the possibility and looked at Gaff to see where this was going.

Gaff jabbed a finger at the cup. “What you do with that potential is up to you.” He shook his head. “I believe I do a better job with my life with Christ guidance, but each person has free will.”

“Following the commandments is good.” Wally nodded as he looked from cup to ocean and then to Gaff.

The corners of Gaff’s mouth twitched upward. “Are you talking about Jesus’ two commandments?”

Wally stood taller and looked at Gaff. “There’re ten of them.”

Gaff shook his head. “But in the New Testament, Jesus boiled them down to two.”

Wally shrugged his resignation. “You’ve mentioned His Way of Love.”

Water sloshed in the cup to draw their attention. “To me, believing in separation from God is the true hell.”

“Then all of life is hell.”

Gaff smiled. “Not if you follow His guidance. It’s only hell if you think you know better and fight to get your way. Then you’re in a hell of your own creation.” He waved to encompass the world around them. “We’re in a physical paradise with the ability to create an emotional paradise.”

Wally cocked his head, confused.

Gaff grinned as he looked around. “If we send out love and work the miracles we’re guided to by the Christ, we create heaven right here on earth.”

Wally looked into the cup again. “And then what happens when we die?”

Gaff threw the water into the wave at their feet. “We rejoin the rest.”

Wally frowned. “You’re saying there’s no judgment, no fire and brimstone, no devil?”

Gaff walked toward his chair. “Oh there’s judgment, but we judge ourselves and probably more harshly than a thousand gods would. From our place in the ocean we can see the whole and that includes the pain we caused. Because we’re part of the whole, we FEEL that pain—and the joy. Feeling that pain is the worst punishment possible.”

Wally did some of his sputtering act, but to his credit, he seemed to be thinking about this new way of looking at life and death.

“And why do you fish, old man?”

Gaff pointed to the ocean. “I find peace in being close to Mother Water. I bless her and she blesses me. I find joy in giving to her and to all her creations, for all creatures came from her. We are filled with the water that is life. Here I can pay tribute to that life and pass on the blessings that I’ve been given. I create miracles when He brings people to ask about the flag. Maybe it’s easier for some to ask an old fisherman about the skull and crossed leg bones than to ask a minister about a man on a cross.”

Wally sputtered.

“I see things very simply and use simple words and examples to get to the point. Maybe they even see how much I love them and that’s important to people who are floundering.” Gaff looked at the tip of his rod and it was almost jumping. A fish on the line?

~*~

*Lorena Peter, Ph.D., writes entertaining mysteries, romances and wisdom books. All have strong spiritual underpinnings and paranormal elements. She blends a medical intuition and healing practice (and travel) with her writing. For more information go to WWW.LORENAPETER.COM. You may contact her on Facebook. For her understanding of the Course, she thanks Carmen Cameron and the class in Louisville, KY.